Craving Absolution
by tifaa
Summary: ONE SHOT - At Yuffie's Coming-Of-Age Ceremony, she gets a visit from an old friend.


"Hold still Yuffie." Godo muttered, slowly placing the hair clip in the back of her head, which would hold up the fancy hair style she had.

Yuffie bristled slightly, unused to such contact from her Father, even a touch as simple as this.

"I am holding still." She sighed and grinned when he growled in agitation.

"Alright. I am finally done. Now you can look." Godo looked her over and smiled in approval.

"Whew." Yuffie got out and then turned to gaze at her reflection in the mirror, gasping.

"... Well?" Her Father's deep timbered voice resounded in the still room.

"... That's me?" She squeaked after a moment and Godo's laughter was abundant.

"Yes, it is. Yuffie, it's you."

Yuffie stared at herself. She didn't recognize her face at all. It was almost... frightening. Her now womanish form was dressed in a baby pink kimono decorated with embroidered star-flower stitching. Her hair was held in place by an ornate hair clip fashioned in gold and the same pink of her dress. The hair clip was her Mother's, she was told.

Yuffie - or Lady Kisaragi, as everyone called her now - was dressed for her ascent into womanhood. It was a tradition that had been celebrated for as long as the Wutainese could remember. A festival was to be held in her honor, because now, physically, as well as mentally, Yuffie had proved that she had the able hand to wield the throne should the event arise.

In the long months since her and her friends saved the world, Yuffie stopped thieving - somewhat - wasn't as immature - according to who you asked - and she'd even allowed her hair to grow out. She even stopped saying "nyuk nyuk nyuk" as much as she used to. Well, not really, but not all transitions into adulthood are perfect.

"Whoa." She breathed and Godo smirked.

"Your Mother would be proud."

Yuffie sneered, the mature woman in the mirror suddenly reflecting her mischievous ways of old. "You would say that."

Godo snorted.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "In any case, let me get going before Chekov starts to worry."

He nodded. "Yuffie?"

She turned, inches from the door. "Yeah Pops?"

Godo smiled. "You look beautiful."

Yuffie's fiery grey eyes softened a twinge. "Thanks." She nodded and laughing at his words, exited the room.

Godo watched her leave, still smiling, for he had the last laugh. "Wait until she really sees who her escort for the night is..."

* * *

He watched the people milling around with semi interest, the people flitting around, laughing gayly and chattering amongst themselves was none of his concern. His concern was one person - one girl, or woman? - he was waiting for. So he stood, gaze taking in the flitting sakura blossoms whose scent splattered rife night, his stance patient.

Then his ears pricked and he unconsciously straightened. Here she comes... he thought, senses warning him as he got up from his leaning position on the pagoda wall, training his eyes on the door.

* * *

Yuffie stepped from the pagoda, and a house servant slid the door shut behind her. She was chuckling and whispering something to herself as she stood on the porch, eyes scanning around to the people, - HER people - wandering around, enjoying the lively festival. She smiled.

He watched her, inches away, her not even aware that he was standing there. Godo was right. He thought firmly. She truly has blossomed into the worth of her line.

Yuffie's stormy grey eyes were serious, still smudged with a bit of playfulness. Her hair, now a deep, fathomless black was twisted up in some intricate pattern of curls. She was taller, of course, her slight growth spurt had taken root the year before. Her movements, fluid and smooth was testament to her training. And her face was alight with the mischief and humor, but it was an older face. A face touched by time and the elegance that comes with royal grooming.

He stepped forward, and Yuffie heard the sound, turning, her brow furrowed. "Who...?" Her eyes narrowed into venomous slits. "Chekov?"

He smirked. "No, Lady Kisaragi. Chekov has been relieved of his duties tonight. I am to be your escort this evening."

It took a moment, a long moment for Yuffie to catch the tone of the voice, the timbre of it, and even when she did, when he stepped from the shadows, she still didn't believe it.

All the blood drained from her face. "... No way in hell." She uttered, all pristine manners failing her.

The smirk was still on his face as he stepped forward, bowing slightly, his face fully illuminated by the lanterns hanging from the tips of the pagoda.

The light cast his body into view, and Yuffie got an eye full.

His hair - seemingly longer but tamed - was held back in a ponytail by a thin black band. Face, ageless, but with a certain _knowing_ element that she wasn't aware of before. The same keen crimson eyes studied her, just as intently. She noted the stubborn lift of his chin, the steely set in his jawline. His cape had been abandoned for a crisp black dress shirt and some black pants. Yuffie looked down and saw the gleam of shoes that weren't his boots.

Then she laughed. "Vincent Valentine, what in Leviathan's name are you doing here?"

He presented his good hand, claw arm kept behind his back, a gentle gesture.

She slapped his hand away. "What are you doing here?"

Vincent sighed, lids closing over his eyes before repeating himself. "Did you not hear? I am to be your escort."

Yuffie snickered. "Seriously?..."

He nodded yes resolutely, hand still poised in the air, wriggling his fingers invitingly.

The ninja's smile dropped and she back-stepped, but not as much as she wanted too. Damn kimono!

She sneered and looked into his eyes directly. "Who put you up to this?"

Vincent shook his head, and when she finally did not take his hand, he simply gripped her upper arm. "You did not know?"

Yuffie sighed as she allowed him to lead her down the steps. "If I knew, I wouldn't have asked."

Unfazed, he continued. "Your Father requested my presence."

"WHAT?" Yuffie exploded and Vincent tightened his fingers around her arm as she started in on him. His sigh was a forgiving one.

"What do you mean, my Father? What..." She stopped, as she looked him up and down, the puzzle pieces clicking together in her mind. "Oh... I get it. Dress me all up like this, send for you on the night of the Festival. My Father's already determined to marry me off. So... are you my suitor?"

Vincent, clearly taken aback by Yuffie's stealthy reasoning, his eyes widened slightly as she turned to him, open mouthed.

"It's true, then, Valentine?"

It was the first - the last and the only time - she had actively seen him stutter.

"Uh... n-no. Me and your Father are regular contacts. He merely wrote to me saying how he wanted you to have an escort for tonight and he asked me if I would do it. I accepted his offer. Besides, I thought this would be an opportune time to say goodbye to you since I am leaving soon."

Yuffie snorted. "No would have been an good answer, Vincent. No need for lengthy explanations."

Vincent closed his eyes tightly, and started walking, realizing he still had her arm. She followed as best she could in her fitting clothing.

"... this from the girl who always wanted me to talk more. I explain, and you tell me that all I had to say is yes. Fickle." Vincent muttered.

Yuffie gasped, pulling on his hand and he slowed down to keep up with her strides.

"Vincent... you... you... Meanie!" That was all she could come up with, simply because it was the first time Yuffie had seen him so... talkative. It was a sight to behold.

"Meanie? Surely a woman of your stature can think of a more creative insult then... meanie." Vincent retorted and Yuffie's mouth dropped.

Vincent turned to her, fighting back a chuckle at her astonished expression. He silently gripped her chin, forcing her mouth to close. "You wouldn't want a fly to land in your mouth, now would you?"

Yuffie only stared at him brazenly before she gritted her fist, shaking it at him.

He cast a sidelong glance at her and offered his hand again, ignoring the threat her small fisted hands made. "Shall we, Lady Kisaragi?"

Sighing softly, she took his hand and nodded.

Bowing slightly at her, Vincent allowed his fingers to curl around hers as he led her into the heart of the festivities.

* * *

The two had wandered around the Festival grounds for hours, greeting townspeople and royalty alike.

Yuffie was grateful for Vincent during this time because his steely gaze had downright scared if not generally flustered all and any possible suitors seeking the ninja's hand. Yuffie grinned at this because now she wasn't forced to exchange pleasantries with men she had no interest in.

Vincent's eyes flitted along the horizon, taking in the smells, the feel of this. It had been months since he had been around this many people, and yet, he wasn't as nervous or edgy as he'd previously anticipated.

The distant popping of the fireworks sounded then, causing people to gasp and point. Vincent titled his head. He never understood the thrill of people looking at colored lights. But, with the sakura blossoms littering the ground, and the smell of food cooking, people laughing all around him, he began to actually like the light display...

Yuffie's persistent elbow in his side jarred him from his musing.

Giggling, she turned to him as a woman bowed gracefully to her. "I feel like a Lady, all these people... all this fuss made over me..."

His gaze met hers then and she shivered with what she saw in the heat of his eyes. "You are a Lady, Yuffie." He stated simply.

Yuffie gaped a little bit at him before turning, kneeling to touch the woman and her kid, beaming.

Vincent watched her talk to the young child, and formally address the woman, and he smiled, an action that went unnoticed by Yuffie.

... Things were coming along just fine.

* * *

It wasn't until later, much later, when the festival had died down and most of the people were lingering in the streets or in their homes, was when Yuffie and Vincent finally got some time to themselves.

They were outside, under the stars, on the tip of Dai Chao, at Yuffie's favorite spot to look down over everything. The night was silent. The stars, were brilliant. It was like, for a moment in time, they were the only two people in the world, dreamily stargazing at the expanse of dark sky littered with pinpoints of light.

After sitting in a long silence, both burrowed in their own thoughts, was when she finally turned to him, daring to look over his resolute profile. "You're leaving."

Vincent shifted, stretching one long leg out in front him and exhaled before answering. "Yes. Yes I am."

"... where are you going?" Yuffie wondered aloud.

"To atone."

She pounded her small hand into the ground. The action would have startled anyone else, had it not been Vincent.

He simply looked at her, waiting for the explosive reaction he knew was coming.

"... after all this time, Valentine? Why?"

Vincent sighed. He wasn't expecting such a calm questioning from her. "You're growing up, Yuffie. If I would have told you this six months earlier, you'd be pummeling me right now."

Yuffie grinned and pointed at him daringly. "It's not like I don't want to pummel you now, Valentine. But I want a decent answer before I do."

He guffawed, the closest thing to a laugh she'd ever heard him utter. "Fair enough, Lady."

She made a sharp, dismissive signal with her hand. "No Lady here. Call me Yuffie."

Vincent faintly cleared his throat. "Fair enough, Yuffie."

The silence that forced itself between the two made Yuffie want to scream and beat at him - still.

"... I am not happy, Yuffie."

"Coulda fooled me, Vinny."

He winced and frowned, for two reasons. One was that hideous nickname she'd concocted for him. Second was, she interrupted him.

Instead, he addressed her comment. "What do you mean, Kisaragi?"

"Tonight... Vincent. If it weren't for your claw arm, you blended right in here, and not because I know you're Wutainese either. You're different... you're different from what I remember you to be. ... So why go bother old ghosts in your past for? Seems like you've already put it to rest, to me."

Vincent, a reply on his tongue was promptly stopped by her hurried, yet horribly candid, words. "I... I've put it to rest, somewhat..."

"... somewhat my ass, Valentine."

He stiffened. "What...?"

"You look at peace!" Yuffie stood, leaning over him before she poked him. Vincent, for the first time in a long time, flinched. Not because he feared her - oh no, - but because he knew, somewhere, deep, deep down within himself, he knew ... that she was right.

"But Yuffie..."

"Don't fucken 'But Yuffie' me, Valentine! You're leaving because you're afraid."

He stood sharply, eyes swirling, depths glowing brightly and glinting coldly in the darkness. His face was stony, and Yuffie backpedaled. His instincts ever alert, he grabbed her arm with his claw arm, pulling her back from the ledge she'd back-stepped too close to, his eyes never leaving hers.

A small shiver moved through her. She oddly wondered was this the fearsome face people saw before Vincent killed them.

"I am not afraid." He spoke those four words with such calm conviction, Yuffie would have believed him - if she didn't know him so well.

"You are afraid, Vincent." She repeated, and the words settled over him. His eyes clouded over and he released her suddenly. "You're scared shitless, and you know it. You're afraid of what life will be like without the pain because you've felt it for so long. You're afraid and unhappy, not because you need to atone, because you just might finally be accepting the truth of what happened to you all those years ago."

Vincent was looking down, hair came undone from their little brief spat. It now clung around him, waving in the night winds as if a life force all it's own. His bangs slanted in his face, hiding his eyes, shielding himself from her.

"..."

"You don't deny it Vinny, because you know it's true. You don't need to leave to atone, you've already started the process yourself."

He looked up at her then, the gaze so open, so **human** it shocked her. "... Humph. No. I do not deny your claims, Kisaragi. I... simply... when in the hell did you get so wise?"

Yuffie laughed. "Listening to my Father and the other Elders drone on for so long, somethings bound to sink in."

Vincent nodded, and his mouth upturned a bit, the damnedest thing to a smile she'd ever seen on his face.

"So... what will you do now?" Yuffie asked and turned, ruffling small tendrils of hair out of her eyes, huffing up at his tall form beside her.

"Hmmm. I do not know Yuffie, in all honesty."

Shock widening her expressive slate eyes, her head jerked back as his gaze slid to hers.

"Does it matter what I do now?"

"I was just... wondering..." She shot, and Vincent shook his head.

"I know, Kisaragi. But it's irrelevant now."

"Irrelevant?" Yuffie, slightly confused, tapped a finger to her forehead. "But you said that you're leaving to atone..."

"Am I leaving?" Vincent deadpanned seriously and Yuffie gritted her teeth, shaking a fist at him.

"... you tell me!" Yuffie cried, and whacked him.

Vincent only made a non committal sound, turning back to gaze off into the near distance.

Yuffie shook her head at his imminent silence, and her eyes followed his, letting her worries loose on the horizon line.

The two allowed their thoughts to wander, the odd couple standing at the tip of Dai Chao, neither one moving to come down, neither one breathing another word to each other. They just stood together, silent and still, as the night continued to fall down around them.


End file.
